emmd
emmd is a free Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) emulator written in Go and aimed at Model 1 hardware.
What emmd is
emmd is a free Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) emulator written in Go and aimed at Model 1 hardware. Its desktop interface provides a game library that can scan ROMs, show artwork and metadata, and manage save states. It also includes rewind, fast-forward, shader effects, RetroAchievements integration, and configurable settings. The emulator supports the Motorola 68000 and Zilog Z80 processors, VDP rendering, YM2612 FM synthesis, and SN76489 PSG audio. Two-player three-button and six-button controllers are supported, along with battery-backed SRAM and save states checked using CRC32 checksums and ROM CRC matching. It handles NTSC and PAL regions, detected from the ROM header or selected manually. A LibRetro core is available for compatible frontends. The project targets officially licensed, released Genesis games; it does not support unlicensed or homebrew games, prototypes, beta ROMs, or non-controller peripherals. It supports Windows, macOS, Linux, and iOS, and lists a GPL-3.0 license. Building the project requires Go 1.25 or later.
Good
- Includes ROM scanning and library metadata.
- Supports rewind, fast-forward, and shader effects.
- Offers a LibRetro core.
- Supports NTSC and PAL regions.
- Free and licensed under GPL-3.0.
Watch out
- Unlicensed and homebrew games are unsupported.
- Prototype and beta ROMs are unsupported.
- Non-controller peripherals are unsupported.
- Building requires Go 1.25 or later.
Who it suits
emmd suits people seeking a free Genesis emulator for supported games and compatible controllers. Building from source requires Go 1.25 or later.
Verdict
emmd offers a desktop game library alongside Genesis emulation and save-state features. Its stated scope excludes homebrew, unlicensed, prototype, and beta games, so check compatibility before choosing it.
The facts
Each one read from emmd's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Build requirement
- Building the project requires Go 1.25 or later.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Compatibility limit
- The emulator targets officially licensed, released Genesis games and lists unlicensed or homebrew games, prototypes, beta ROMs, and non-controller peripherals as unsupported.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Compatibility limits
- The emulator targets officially licensed and released Genesis games and says it does not support unlicensed or homebrew games, prototype or beta ROMs, or non-controller peripherals.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Controllers
- It supports two players using 3-button or 6-button controllers.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Desktop features
- The desktop UI includes a game library with ROM scanning, artwork, metadata, save state management, rewind, fast-forward, shader effects, RetroAchievements integration, and configurable settings.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Desktop library
- Its desktop UI provides a game library with ROM scanning, artwork, metadata, save-state management, rewind, fast-forward, shader effects, RetroAchievements integration, and configurable settings.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Development requirement
- Building the project requires Go 1.25 or later.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Emulated hardware
- The emulator supports Motorola 68000 and Zilog Z80 CPUs, VDP rendering, YM2612 FM synthesis, and SN76489 PSG audio.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Emulation
- The emulator supports Motorola 68000 and Zilog Z80 CPUs, VDP rendering, YM2612 FM synthesis, and SN76489 PSG audio.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Frontend integration
- The project provides a LibRetro core for use with LibRetro-compatible frontends.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Integration
- A LibRetro core is provided for use with LibRetro-compatible frontends.checked 2 Oct 2026
- License
- The repository lists a GPL-3.0 license.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Product
- emmd is a Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) emulator written in Go and targeting Model 1 hardware.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- emmd is a Sega Genesis (Mega Drive) emulator written in Go and targeting Model 1 hardware.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Regions
- It supports NTSC and PAL and can detect the region from a ROM header.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Save data
- It supports battery-backed SRAM and save states, which are checked with CRC32 checksums and ROM CRC matching.checked 3 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- macOS
- The project documents a build target that creates a macOS application bundle with an icon and code signing.checked 2 Oct 2026
The company
- Maker
- The GitHub account for the repository is named John Schember and lists Florida, USA.checked 2 Oct 2026
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